Sierra Club decides to back Cape Cod wind farm project
By KEVIN DENNEHY, STAFF WRITER Cape Cod Times
The Sierra Club will announce its conditional support today for the Nantucket Sound wind farm, saying it would provide clean energy without posing a significant threat to wildlife habitat or birds.
While the well-known environmental group had initial concerns about habitat and bird impacts - and whether the public would receive any financial benefit from the use of public lands - recent developments have assuaged the fears of Sierra Club leaders.
Among the deciding factors, the federal Minerals Management Service is crafting guidelines that will, for the first time, create a lease arrangement for the development of renewable energy projects on public waters. Sierra Club leaders were also encouraged by recent findings of the Massachusetts Audubon Society that the turbines would not likely threaten birds, said James McCaffrey, director of the 28,000-member Massachusetts Sierra Club.
McCaffrey said the group wants to take a stand on the proposed wind farm because Congress will soon consider a controversial policy that could doom the project. A provision tucked into an $8.7 billion Coast Guard bill would grant the Bay State governor authority to veto the Nantucket Sound project and Gov. Mitt Romney is an outspoken opponent of the wind farm.
''We wish government would intervene in bad projects and they seldom do,'' McCaffrey said. ''And this is a project that has potential to do many good things.''
Christopher Neill of Falmouth, a Sierra Club member and former chairman of the group's Cape Cod chapter, was initially skeptical, but offered a cautious endorsement yesterday. ''I've debated with myself long and hard whether this was something I could support,'' Neill said, noting his concerns over the absence of competitive bidding for the right to use public land and potential threat to birds. ''I've come to the conclusion that I would be willing to accept some of that risk.''
The Sierra Club's endorsement adds yet another voice into the contentious debate over the wind farm, developer Cape Wind Associate's plan to build 130 417-foot turbines over 24-square miles on the sound. While supporters call the project a chance to provide renewable energy on a large scale, opponents say the Nantucket Sound location is simply the wrong site.
The Sierra Club's support is conditional upon evidence that Cape Wind complete risk evaluations on all wildlife, establish a long-term monitoring program at the site, and compensate the state and federal government for use of public waters.
Kevin Dennehy can be reached at kdennehy@capecodonline.com.
(Published: May 19, 2006) |
